Two days after Oregon’s defense and a severe rainstorm sent Cal quarterback Jared Goff to the bench, the Bears had Goff and Zach Kline share practice time on Monday.

Coach Sonny Dykes said after the 55-16 loss to the Ducks that Goff likely would remain the starter.

“If I had to make a guess, that’d be my guess,” Dykes said Monday, when asked to speculate on who will start Saturday against Washington State. “We’ll see how they perform this week. We felt like Zach warranted some more reps.”

Meanwhile, Dykes explained he booted junior defensive end Chris McCain from the team Sunday following “a series of things that date back for a while.”

He said there was no single incident during or after the Oregon game that sparked the decision, but declined to provide further details.

“Anytime you do that it’s a very difficult decision because it has an impact on a young person’s life,” said Dykes, adding that McCain will be kept on scholarship this year and continue to attend classes.

Senior nose tackle Deandre Coleman said he was surprised by the move.

“The team was hurt. He’s a friend, he’s a brother,” Coleman said. “Coach is always going to do what he feels is best for the team. Most guys understood. I understand. I’m a team player.”

Goff, who lost two fumbles in the first quarter at Oregon, practiced some wearing a glove. “It may be something he decides to do, may be something he hates,” Dykes said.

Goff was the nation’s total offense leader as a true freshman through three games. Kline, a redshirt freshman, completed 18 of 37 passes for 165 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his college debut.

Monday’s practice ended nearly a half-hour early because of a campus-wide power outage that prevented use of lights at Menorial Stadium.

Starting right tackle Steven Moore (head), cornerback Kam Jackson (lower leg) and reserve running back Khalfani Muhammad (head) were on the sideline, but Dykes said he he expects all three to play Saturday.

Jeff Faraudo

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He questioned what the $&%* Buh was doing to the defense too many times?

CalBearister

Even if that were true, guess what? Chris McCain’s job is not to be the Defensive Coordinator. It’s to be a defensive end. But regardless of why McCain was cut, that Coach Dykes’ call. And if McCain was acting detrimental to the team, then good riddance.

“Adam [James] was a kid who seemed like he had been given everything he wanted his whole life and acted like if things did not go exactly how he wanted, then it was because someone was treating him unfairly or his failures were somebody else’s fault. He was a selfish player on and off the field who was counterproductive for our team and would be for any other team.”
– Graham Harrell, Texas Tech, QB, 2004-2008

rotfogel

Sorta sounds like the QB competition is back on, as it should be.

milo

Wear the glove young Jared, because the long term forecast project heavier than average rain this fall and winter.

Picard

@CalBearister-
Thanks for the link, but it’s not applicable in this case. Comparing Chris McCain’s situation to the Adam James fiasco is a big stretch, if for no other reason than the fact that James was not dismissed from the team, his coach was. Plus, James is a spoiled kid with an overbearing egomanic for a father and there’s no evidence to suggest the same ills plague McCain.
We do know that McCain had problems with the previous coaching staff, Blasquez in particular (who has been reassigned to an athletic department position more suitable to his skill set). We don’t know the specifics of combined incidents that led Coach Dykes to kick McCain off the team. We just know that it was “a series of things that date back for a while.”
If McCain was a problem in the locker room and detrimental to his team, then Dykes obviously made the right move. The kid has lots of talent and this is an unfortunate situation.

The Wisdom Cow

Is it okay to be a lockerroom disturbance? No.

That said, you take an extremely talented OLB, switch him to DE with promises of success, and then put that defense out on the field. I can understand if he became overwhelmed by frustration.

Doesn’t mean it’s okay. That’s for us to scream about. But I can understand how he could have lost it.

covinared

McCain is no different than the many talented athletes before him that don’t belong in a university. All he had to do is act like a gentleman and keep a 2.0. Even at Cal, its not that hard. He failed.

Will

Bovine is right. It’s always important to look at these things from a player’s perspective in the college game, since these are just kids. I can see how he might have been acting up after being fed up of this system. That said, I wish he was more emotionally mature if that was the case.

SteveNTexas

As we don’t know all the facts, we have to go with the coach on this. Whether you like Dykes or not – we know he wants to win and I’m sure he took all these concerns into consideration.

Steve W

The good thing is that he will remain in school for the rest of the year and continue to go to classes. That’s what Zachary Maynard did after he got injured last year, right?

http://Aol.com PeteBear

I assume that if he wants it, and can show that he has taken steps to deserve it, McCain could be back on the team next year. That may not be the route he chooses to take (vs. the nfl draft), but the choice as to how he wants this phase of his life to unfold is entirely up to the man in the mirror. You define yourself.

Steve W

Pete Bear…the better bet is That young Mr. McCain has already put Berkeley in his rear-view mirror and has crossed the Mississippi to reunite with his homies in NC. We have seen the last of him if history shows us anything.

Steve W

And after he takes the Wonderlic test, the NFL won’t want him, either.

EastCoastCalFan

C’mon guys. Face facts. McCain was the last piece of the “deal with the devil” Tedford made to coerce Keenan Allen to walk away from Alabama. Allen was a diva, his half-brother a disaster, and McCain… well, you judge for yourself. But if Sonny dumped him with the “D” as bad as it is, then he REALLY must have been a problem. Steve W is right – McCain will be in the Carolinas soon, bemoaning how he got screwed and his pro dream was ruined, while the NFL scouts who know better will run far away from him as a potential draft pick. Someone may pick the kid up as a free agent, but in five years he’ll be back in Greensboro, sitting on the stoop, bragging about the old days while struggling to rustle carts at Winn-Dixie.